Soul Eater: A New Madness Consumes?
by emiralnova
Summary: Post-manga/canon. What happens when you mix in Soul & Maka with the Amazon jungle? A new Madness is born from a new Kishin-to-be called the Wizard. Maka has strange dreams and Soul struggles to come up with a solution. Will they & the rest of Spartoi be able to stop this new Madness? And what does Maka's dreams have to do with Crona? Written for Resbang 2k17.
1. The Amazon, Part 1

A HUMONGOUS THANKS to my beta senpais: Madi, Marsh, & Proma who are da bestttttt Happy reading!

Soul snapped awake to the sound of thunder. 5:00 AM glowed from his bedside clock, the room's blackout curtains holding back the flashes of lightning outside. The plip-plapping of rain on the window signaled the rare arrival of a Death City storm. A muffled moan could be heard through the thin walls. It was Maka. Groggy, he pushed himself off his bed and walked into his meister's room. This time her sheets were on the floor. She somehow knocked over her bedside alarm clock. Maka yelped suddenly, startling him. Her moans became more panicked by the second and he moved quickly.

"Hey! Wake up," said Soul, patting her arm. When that wasn't enough, he shook her. She threw an arm out, as if to reach for something (or punch him, he couldn't tell). She was too involved in her nightmare tonight. "Maka! Wake up! It's a dream. Wake up!" And by some miracle, her moaning ebbed away slowly and decreased in volume until she became silent. He watched her eyes open, unsure where she was. And then they focused on him.

"You were having a nightmare," he said pointedly. He hoped his bedhead made her feel guilty too.

"Soul," she sighed tiredly. She avoided his eyes.

"This is the fourth time this week."

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Go back to sleep." She picked up her covers off the floor and threw them over herself, facing away from him.

It was too early for this. He huffed and padded back to his room. He returned to bed, but he was too awake to sleep again. Her nightmares can't go on like this. But what could he do if she didn't want to talk?

/

"What's eating at you, brohiem?" Black Star said between pizza bites. "You've been moody all morning and a lot more so than your usual resting bitch face."

Faced away from him, Soul bared his bottom teeth over his top lip. He had thought about confiding in Black Star about Maka's recent nightmares, but he could handle it goddammit! He was her partner after all.

"Nothing's bothering me. Mind your own business," he said shortly. "How did your mission with Tsu go?"

"Alright, don't tell your god your troubles! I see how it is," Black Star said. "Our mission went fine. We bagged our guy in like an hour tops. It wasn't even hard! Man, after the Moon battle everything's boring as fuck."

"Shouldn't it be a good thing that it's easy now?"

"I guess. But we've been home for more than four days and that's, like, unheard of. Even for a star like me who deserves retirement, I'd like more of a challenge, you know?"

Soul grunted. He and Maka got home three days ago from their terrible-ass mission and Kid hadn't given them anything new. Now whenever Maka isn't ignoring him, she's on his ass about studying for finals. He's been itching to go bike somewhere. Or maybe split something in half.

"Soul!"

Speak of the devil, he turned towards the sound of his meister's voice. Maka was jogging toward him with Tsugumi trailing not far behind.

"Sup?"

"I have to help Tsugumi and Meme with something tonight, so I'll be having dinner with them, okay?"

"Oh," he said, frowning. "That's cool. You gonna come home after?"

"I might, I'm not sure. I'm helping her revise for her final so it might take a while."

"Okay. Just call me if you need a ride."

"Kay. I'll race you down the stairs, Tsugumi! Bye, Soul."

Soul threw her a peace-sign as she passed and watched her descent down the stairs.

"Is Maks doing okay? She seems off, too. Flighty, for some reason," Black Star said. When did fuck he become so observant? Soul let out a frustrated burst of air and said, "I don't know. I can't be sure until she talks to me. She's been having nightmares ever since we got back."

Black Star considered the weapon across from him before asking, "How did your last mission go?"

Rolling his eyes to the drooling sun, Soul gave up. "Honestly? Really weird."

/

 _One week ago: Manaus, Brazil._

The brochure hid his meister from view, emblazoned with the large words: AMAZON RIVER TOUR. They were inside the tour office just having purchased their tickets from the travel agent. Pictures of local wildlife were littered all over the inside pages with an aerial photo of the massive river surrounded on both sides by thick forest. It was a stark contrast to what was around them: a modern, bustling city with planted trees and traffic. Tourists and civilians crowded the sidewalks and shop vendors shouted their prices at potential buyers.

Manaus was one of the closest cities to the Amazon Forest via port, and there were strange reports of pre-kishin activity. A string of local kidnappings had cropped up, and it was a lone soul left behind at a crime scene that had alerted Shibusen's attention. Maka had nabbed the four-star mission off the board the moment she saw it.

The job required a low profile, so they had to make do in tourist getups. Soul had wrapped his hair in a bandana and cheap visor, reluctantly exuding a 'cool' tourist vibe. He needed some sunglasses, though.

His meister abruptly folded her brochure and put it neatly in her parka. "The tour starts in about two hours, so we should grab some provisions before we head out," Maka informed him. "I just cleared it with the tour guide that we're from the DWMA and will be leaving halfway through the tour to scout the area."

"Cool. Maybe we could get some actual shopping done while we're here, too," Soul mentioned, while eyeing a sweet pair of shades from a Ray Bans store.

"We're not here to go shopping, Soul," Maka reprimanded. "But I agree, those glasses do look nice."

"Right?"

They went to the local grocery store to grab perishables and first aid before heading to the Ray Bans store. Soul snagged a decent price on a pair of aviators. Afterward, they returned to the tour agency and hogged the only couch and table to prepare for the mission. Maka plugged in her portable charger into a wall before fishing out the brochure and a separate map for reference.

"What's the plan? Fly out there, use soul perception, then repeat until you find something fishy?" Soul guessed, observing over her shoulder.

"Probably. I can't think of any other way. The reports said that there was a bunch of missing people from this village over here and here," Maka pointed at her map. "Which should be around this area on the tour map. I was thinking we could talk to the locals there? But I'm not sure about that because of the language barrier."

"Have you heard of Google translate, Maka?"

"You know it doesn't work all the time!" she countered.

"Still better than nothing," he pointed out.

"If we run out of options, we could I guess," she said dryly.

The fan hummed above them while they waited for their tour bus. Maka's pencil scratching permeated the air, and with the intense humidity, Soul almost fell asleep before being jostled by Maka. The tour guide quietly told them to get seats on the bus. They were departing.

Maka predictably picked the seat closest to the driver and tour guide, herding Soul into the window seat so she can ask her million nerd questions about Brazil. The driver spoke limited English, but their guide was amused at her enthusiasm. Soul took the time take in the scene out the window.

"So you two're from the death weapon school, right?" the guide asked amiably.

"Yeah, he's my weapon," she replied.

"And you're his, ah, handler?"

Soul snorted. "That's one way to put it." Maka elbowed him hard.

"Yeah, I'm his meister," she laughed, completely innocent.

"It's very brave of you to hunt monsters on your own," he said. "Have you thought about doing something, eh, less dangerous?"

"No, I always wanted to be a meister. My mother was one and my dad is a weapon, so I was exposed to it really early on," she explained. "And I'm not alone; Soul is with me."

"I must admit, I'm a little nervous about letting you go on your own," the guide said with furrowed eyebrows. "How are you going to find the missing people?"

"We're going to survey the area by flight first and go from there," she said. "We don't plan on staying the night there if we don't find anything. We'll fly back and probably return tomorrow. We just wanted to know the general route to and from there."

"Don't worry about us. You won't be liable if we go missing too," Soul said.

The guide blanched and then made the sign of the cross. "Bless you both."

"We appreciate it," Maka said. "It shouldn't be too hard."

/

"Well?"

"Nothing," she grunted, stomping hard on the thick branch they were standing on. The tree shivered and several leaves and tiny birds emerged, startling both of them. Apart from the two of them, the inhabitants of the forest were only natural wildlife- not a human soul in sight. They had been going at this for three hours since they left the river tour, and the humidity had them down to their last water bottle.

Maka was getting bratty and Soul knew the humidity didn't help at all. There was irritation on her heavy brow. She wiped the sweat away from her eyes and commanded him to transform again. He glared at the dark river in front of them and did what she asked.

This mission began to feel like a chore. He found it strange that she was this irritated so early on a new mission. What the heck was her problem? He tried his best not to pick a fight with her when she's keyed up, but he was hungry and the heat was kind of getting to him too.

They flew deeper and deeper into the Amazon, and the sun did not smile. It was angry, a mirror image of meister's mood. Maka steered him sharply to the left. What? There was still a lot of forest left. Why are they turning—

"I want to talk to that village nearby. We'll try that Google translate thing," she said.

"Finally. Something to do."

"Shut up," she snapped.

When they arrived at the village, it was smaller than expected. The families seem wary but after some minutes fumbling with his phone, they were able to get some questions in. Like how were their loved ones taken? Did they do anything fishy before their disappearance. Most of their questions matched the one in their report. But it seems that the villagers were not informed about who took them.

" _Monster?_ " one woman gasped in Portuguese.

Maka typed on Soul's phone quickly. The automated sound of a Portuguese woman translated her words: _"Don't worry. Our job is to fight monsters. We'll find your family and bring them back."_ She gave them a thumbs up and a friendly smile, but several women gave each other worrying looks. Soul found that strange, but chose not to say anything. He put his phone away and gestured for them to head out. But before he could transform, one woman came running up to them, _"Wait!"_

She began to speak in rapid Portuguese and gestured them to follow her. "Uh…?" said Maka and glanced at her partner. The woman grabbed her hand and deliberately led her towards a small hut. He followed them, but was interrupted by something that tugging hard on his pant leg. It was a small boy, who spoke rapidly. Soul frowned, not understanding what he said. The boy was panicking and pointed at the hut. Soul spotted Maka as she disappeared behind the straw door and attempted to placate the child before jogging after his meister.

The boy shouted something at him, but as Soul lifted the straw door, he sees Maka gagged and struggling violently between two burly men.

"Oul!" said Maka, muffled.

The women who led them here charged at him, but Soul transformed both his arms to shivs and the women instantly halted and hesitated. It was then he noticed the knife near Maka's neck that he snarled, "Let her go!"

"Drop weapon," grunted the bulkier of the two men. "Or die."

Maka's face filled with rage as he dared to bring the knife closer and stilled. Soul concentrated on her face and waited for his signal. Maka eyed to her left and he realized the other guy, who was much thinner, was unarmed and vulnerable. _Dumb move._

She abruptly flailed as hard as she could and stomped hard on a foot while Soul moved to make a swift cut on a thin arm. The thin man howled and let go instinctively. The other cowered in pain but didn't let go of Maka. Soul feinted right and used the blunt end of his blade to hit the back of his head quickly and Maka used the chance to twist in the man's grip and kicked him hard in the knee.

Maka reached out and Soul felt himself hit her glove.

A moment later, the roof of the hut severed itself from the base and disintegrated. Screams filled the air while glowing white wings emerged. The little boy who tried to warn Soul peeked from behind another hut. He squinted at the blinding light and his jaw dropped when he saw a girl shoot into the air and flew away from them.

/

"Why the _fuck_ didn't you wait for me?" Soul shouted over the wind.

They soared over the Amazon. The sun was asleep, drooling heavily on the horizon. It was twilight and they have been flying for 20 minutes away from their captors. Her pigtails whipped in the wind while she looked behind her and yelled, "I thought I could handle it!"

" _We_ barely handled it!"

"She looked like she needed help, okay!"

"Idiot! I knew something was off with that village!"

"Well, you didn't say anything, stupid!"

"I shouldn't need to, you dumb! You should've waited for me!"

"I can take care of myself, Soul!"

"Clearly!"

They flew in stony silence while Maka steered them aimlessly deeper over the forest. Soul wanted this shitty day to end. He saw the tip of the black moon peek over the river and he decided that if he was able to see Crona, then it was probably too late to do anything.

"We should head back," he said.

Maka ignored him.

"Hey. Don't be stupid and let's head back. It's gonna get dark and we don't want to get lost."

"…"

"Maka."

"…We are lost," she mumbled.

"What?" he hissed. "What about the GPS on your phone?

"It's dead," she said, her shoulders slouched over in guilt. "I wasn't paying attention to where we're going so now I don't know where we are," she said.

He wished he could burn his eyeballs off. "Let's stop somewhere. A tree or something. I'm fucking tired."

It took a moment, but Maka complied and they chose a clearing on the edge of the river. Crickets and other unknown bugs buzzed and hummed around them. When they landed, Soul transformed and checked his phone. They were a deadzone.

"Fuck, there's no reception! Guhh!" he growled and flopped onto his back. The stars twinkled in the pink sky and unaware of their terrible run of luck. Soul pretended for a moment that they weren't lost by closing his eyes.

Their resonance was going to suffer if they continued their little spat. They had gotten better at communicating over the years, but when they did fight, it sucked. Soul sighed. He shouldn't have yelled at her. He didn't pay attention either. He was about to apologize when he heard a rustle to his right. Looking over, the spot where his meister should have been was empty and he whipped around and saw Maka walking into the forest.

"Maka!" he called out and scrambled up to follow her. Her pigtails disappeared behind a giant leaf. Waving it away, he called out to her several times, but no response. She can't be that mad, can she? Then it was when Soul noticed it: she was walking differently. Her heavy step was not focused and didn't have the slight bounce she had. Something was off.

Maka kept walking deeper into the jungle. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm. Before he knew it, the wind was knocked out of him when he slammed into nearby tree by his fist. She was close enough for him to see her clouded eyes. Crap. Maka's not home. Stunned and unsure what to do, he was then let go by his possessed meister and her body ran away from him.

Catching his breath, he struggled to come up with an explanation as to what happened to his partner while he chased after her. Soul hated himself a little more for not running track with her more often because when he rounded the tree she turned on, she vanished without a trace.

"Maka! Where are you?"

/

When his legs felt like they were going to fall off, Soul collapsed to his knees. It had been hours. He was worried sick, lost, and desperately wanted a shower. Maka had their contact mirror to Kid, so he couldn't call for help. And he was very wary of the forest. All the shit he had watched on the Discovery Channel had nothing on this mission. He wasn't squeamish with bugs, but he saw some bigger than his whole arm and he rather not think about it.

What's even more disturbing was the persistent feeling of being watched. The night came fast. The grinning moon barely gave him enough light due to the trees. only blessing (or curse) he had was being able to chop high weeds with scythe arms. He can handle a bear on his own, right? Does the Amazon even have bears (probably not)? He seriously wished he had soul perception right now.

It was a bad idea to stay still in one place, but Soul had no inkling on how to find his meister. He ran his hands into his hair. What would Maka do? The sound of a twig snapping to his right made him pause. Lifting his head, glowing yellow eyes was in point blank range.

Soul backed up and squirreled into a nearby tree. A cloud parted and dim moonlight streamed through the thin branches. A black panther was revealed in front of him. It would have been a majestic sight to behold had it not been actually happening. Without many other options, Soul transformed completely into a scythe and clanged noisily on the ground. No blood loss if he's metal, right? Hopefully, it'll lose interest and leave.

The panther slowly approached to where he was, unafraid. Soul's scythe eye watched it sniff him several times, rubbing its wet nose near the blade. The cat peered down at his eye and he couldn't look away. Then the panther seemed to make a decision. It opened his big jaws and Soul squeezed his eye shut, hoping for the best.

A moment later, Soul felt himself being dragged across the ground. He peeked and saw the jungle moving. The jungle cat had more strength than he'd expected - he was in its mouth! The panther's maw clamped around the shaft and carried him like an average cat toy!

 _What the actual fuck?_

Soul permitted himself to be carried. Sure, why not _._


	2. The Amazon, Part 2

Chapter 2: The Amazon, Part 2

Maka groaned and realized quickly that she was on dry, even ground. _How did I get here? Where's Soul?_ She raised her head and winced. She felt her head and there was a small bump on the side. At least she wasn't not bleeding.

There was a clearing with dark forest surrounding her. A jagged, triangular monolith commanded the space in front of her. The sound of running water came on her right, where there was an old, heavily vined water fountain attached on the side. There was a low fog, but she was able to see the spreads of people walking slowly, aimlessly, and who seemed to be in a trance.

Maka got up and wobbled. Dizziness wasn't good. She slowly approached a middle-aged woman waved her left hand in front of her face. The woman gave no acknowledgment she was there and continued to walk away from her. Maka looked into her soul and saw that it was unharmed, but muted somehow. In fact, there were a lot more people here than she anticipated. Were these the missing people they were looking for?

She scanned the crowd for Soul and there were no signs of her partner. Nearly defenseless, her first priority is to contact Kid for back up and look for Soul. She searched her pockets for her emergency mirror. Opening her compact, she saw that it had spider-webbed cracks from however she got here. _It'll do,_ she thought as she dialed Death's number.

While normally the dial tone was consistent, this time the ringing was slow and after a few beats, the mirror continued to show her reflection. After dialing three more times and no answer, she accepted her fate and the only thing she can do was find Soul and come back another day.

She coughed and she realized how thirsty she was. She eyed the fountain warily but went toward it to take her chances. Taking off her glove, she dipped her hand and scooped a handful up to eye level. It looked surprisingly clean, but she was still unsure. She debated the consequences of drinking foreign water for a minute before she saw a reflection in the water that wasn't her own.

 _Hello, Maka Albarn._

She jumped away from the fountain and assumed a defensive stance. How did she miss someone so close to her?

 _Don't be startled. The water is safe to drink if that's what you're wondering._

"Who are you?" she said.

A man sat on the edge of the fountain like he had been there all this time. He had long brown dreads that draped onto the ground and clothes that were worn down to rags. Rested at his side was a heavy looking staff with a rounded end with red jewel at the center. His face showed a young man and his body was well-built and dark. He had droopy eyes that were unfocused and cloudy. Was he blind?

 _Yes, child. I am blind._

Maka realized with dread that the voice came from inside her head. "How are you doing that?"

 _I am very old. As old as this forest._

"Why are you holding people hostage?" she demanded.

 _Your soul is brave for such a young person. Your partner is a lucky man._

She snarled, "How do you know about Soul? _Where is he_?"

 _He is lost, just as you are. His soul is noisy and strange. What an interesting partnership._

Maka wishes she had any sort of knife right now and damned herself for losing Soul in the middle of the Amazon. How was she going to get out of this?

 _The answer is simple: You don't._

The finality of that made her pause. "What makes you say that?"

 _You are trapped here forever. Until my time has come._

"What?" she said.

 _I must die here. And sacrifices must be made for that to happen._

The idea of Soul dying skims across her mind and she doesn't accept it.

 _He will be here soon and you both will die with me. I assure it._

/

Maka doesn't know how much time has passed and she tries to stay awake. She suspects she has a small concussion by the pressure near her head bump. Maka refused to drink the fountain water at first, but when she sees several missing villagers taking long sips from the shallow well, she took her chances and drank some. It was clean, yet it didn't make sense. Why keep people alive if the point of them was dying?

She deduced that she and the hostages must be living in order for him to die. But when she went back to the well to ask him he disappeared. She hadn't seen him since. He hadn't made any effort to speak to her again, either. What madness this is? Soul is still missing and she can only see so far with her soul perception without him. There was no communication for miles and it was getting dark. Her stomach growled feebly.

She has tried to walk out of the perimeter, but there seemed to be an invisible boundary from letting her exit anywhere outside the circle clearing. The fog hung eerily still around the monolith, despite not being a cloud in the sky. When night fell, the only light came from muted stars. Is this how Crona feels? Trapped in near darkness?

How will she get to Crona now? Without Soul? Maka was used to having solutions on hand to get her out of a sticky situation. But how can she when there was nothing to do?

For hours later, she tries to feel her way through soul perception and tries mirror communication several more times. When the sun broke and morning came, Maka collapsed from exhaustion. Soon the humidity of the Amazon made the trees fuzzy and the civilians into colorful figures. The last thing she heard was the sound of the buzzing forest and a faint melody from far, far away.

/

 _Maka. MAKA!_

 _She turned around and saw Crona running toward her. She felt joy rush up into her chest. Maka took off running. The desire to hug them was strong._

 _"Crona! I've missed you so much!" she yelled out._

 _"Maka!" they cried._

 _She felt like she could soar. She couldn't believe it. Crona was here!_

 _"Maka! You need…up!" Their face contorted_

 _"What?" she said, her step faltering._

 _Crona came up to her and shook her by the shoulders. "You have to… wake up! You're in… danger!"_

 _"What are you talking about? We're home, aren't we?" she said, trying to remove their hands from her._

 _"Wake up! You have to wake up! This isn't real! You're dreaming!"_

 _"Wha—"_

 _"Maka! Wake up! Wake up…"_

"Maka?"

She gasped suddenly. It was like falling and she was on her back.

"Maka!"

It was then she noticed her partner above her. His wild white hair plastered onto his forehead and he had a cut on his chin. She felt his hand behind her head and she was suddenly crushed onto his shirt. It smelled like sweat, his faint cologne, and home. And it all came rushing back.

"Soul," she said and gripped his back tightly.

"Thank fuck," he said, and hugged her tighter. "I felt your pulse, but—" He loosened his grip to get a good look at her.

"I'm fine," she mumbled as he fussed over her. "How did you find me?"

"I was dragged here by a panther?"

" _Huh_?"

"I don't know. This place is fucking weird."

"There's a guy!" she said, memory rushing back. "I think he's a witch! He had a staff that looked like it does magic. And it was him who led all those missing people here!"

He gave her a strange look, "What people?"

Maka froze, filled with dread. She looked behind Soul and the field that used to be occupied by humans was void of souls. It was like they were never there. Fury ignited within her.

"We have to find him, Soul. There were innocent people and he took them all."

He knew that familiar fire in her eyes and there was no going back. So much for leaving. But she was right.

"What do you wanna do?"

"Expand my soul perception to find him. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

He maneuvers himself behind her and rests his forehead on her shoulder. Maka clasped one of her hands with his, straightened her back, and closed her eyes. She found her partner's soul waiting for her and they commenced resonance. With his energy and support, she willed her perception to expand wider and wider into the dark plain, and she saw so much wildlife. She felt how tired Soul was and regret spiked within her.

 _Don't worry about it,_ he told her. _Focus on the mission._

But the Amazon seemed to be devoid of humans. Was it possible that the witch was using soul protect? Had he already eaten all the souls he'd gathered here? Was this a new Kishin in the making?

 _No I do not plan on being the next Asura._

Maka snapped out of her perception and there he was, right in front of them.

"Soul!"

"Right!"

Adrenaline coursed through her when Soul transformed. They formed a defensive position. The man had a serene expression and did not appear threatened by them. He sat on the fountain near the monolith, staff in hand. The gem on the staff head glittered with life.

"I won't ask you again. Who are you? And where did you take those civilians?" said Maka.

 _You may call me the Wizard. And your time has come. The humans that were here already have their place in my ascension. It won't be long now before you all help me leave this life and into the next._

"In the name of Lord Death, you have been judged as a threat to humanity," said Maka. "Your days are done, Wizard. Your soul is mine!"

She rushed up to him and when she swiped Soul for a killing blow, the Wizard vanished in place.

 _There's no need to fight. You will lose if I use my full power._ He reappeared behind sliced through the air but he countered her attacks easily, using his staff to block blow by blow.

"Then come fight me like you mean it!"

 _I am saving my energy for the ceremony. It will consume all of me. There is no need to take my soul when I am willing to give it up._

"This voice in my head crap is getting old," Soul said. "Why do you need living souls to die? Why don't you just kill yourself and do us a favor."

 _That would be distasteful._

The Wizard leapt high in the air and rested himself at the highest point of the monolith. It was there he started chanting.

"Oh _now_ he talks," Soul said.

"We have to get up there," Maka said.

"And attack with what? Have you thought about calling backup?"

"The mirror is dead," she said. "He must be blocking the signal somehow."

The Wizard raised his arms mid-chant and the ground began to shake.

"Maka!" Soul shouted, and eased himself into flight mode. Maka climbed on and kicked off hard and shot them towards the enemy.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Soul.

"We have to do something!" she yelled.

And it was then the pain started.

Maka screamed and she clutched her head. It was like something stabbed a thin knife between her ears. Soul howled in agony and was unable to keep his weapon form. The pair fell from high above and Soul could only clutch onto Maka's back, paralyzed in pain. She felt her chest thump violently and the feeling of being ripped at the seams. She tasted blood and her own vomit. Overwhelmed, the last thing she saw was the sky and an arm reaching towards her…

And with a loud bang, Maka was awake. The sound of busy people buzzed around her and she found that she was looking up at a tent canopy. She was on her back once again and this is the second time she found herself in a strange place. Maka tried to sit up but was pushed back down, gently.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy girl. You're safe now," said a familiar voice.

It was Liz Thompson. She looked windswept in a tank, red plaid button down tied around her waist over cargo pants. "Hey Maka. You look really bad."

"Thanks?" she tried to say, but ended up hacking on a dry throat. A water bottle was shoved in her face and within a minute, she finished it. Weariness finally caught up with her body and Maka decided to take in her surroundings while laying down. Medics with Shibusen armbands rushed around the makeshift hospital treating various injuries. She spotted the middle aged woman from the field talking amiably with a male nurse. She was alive. In fact, it seemed that all of the missing people were in the tent with her. Except…

"Soul is right behind you if you're looking for him," Liz said. "He's still out cold though. Stein is around here somewhere, but he said he should be okay."

Her weapon looked fast asleep, drooling slightly. She peered at his soul, which looked worn down, but glowing and whole. She turned back to Liz who explained what happened after she passed out.

It was actually Tezca who alerted Shibusen of their whereabouts. The former Deathscythe thought it was strange when an unknown presence blocked an alert coming from South America, and after the few times Maka tried mirror contact, Tezca decided to inform Kid of this odd occurrence, to which Kid immediately sent Liz and Patti with reinforcements to Brazil with Tezca's guidance. The person who grabbed Maka and Soul mid-fall was Patti, having been practicing for months with her very own state-of-the-art Beezlebub while shooting with Liz in her other hand.

"It sucks that you two were so banged up. Patti looked so badass," Liz said.

"Aww, thanks Sis!"

Patti popped from behind her sister and waved, "Glad you're awake, Maka!"

"Thank you Patti, Liz," Maka thanked, but only half-heartedly. She thought about how this mission was a complete bust _and_ they had to be rescued. What kind of meister was she? Maka missed the quick look shared between the Thompsons.

"Hey," Liz said, putting a hand on Maka's shoulder. "Everyone has a bad day at work. Don't beat yourself up about it, okay? You are a great meister."

"Yeah, Sis is right!" Patti chirped. "You did the best you could! Don't sweat it, Maks."

Maka nodded slightly and gave them a small smile, but she felt a twinge in her chest. It felt like the pain she felt from the fall. That reminded her.

"What happened to the guy? That Wizard person?" Maka asked.

The Thompson's expressions darkened. Liz crossed her arms and said, "Whatever spell he was casting, we interrupted that, but we had some difficulty restraining him. Somehow, Maaba and the witches got whiff of his magic and came to help. She's containing him with her magic right now. The coven has told us they can handle him, but we're kinda hesitant to leave in case something happens. I don't know what Kid wants to do either. I should call him soon, but the reception here is _bad._

"In the meantime, we're gonna get you and Soul home ASAP and we'll be stationed here until Kid calls us back. So just chill out until the plane comes, okay?" Liz said, patting her shoulder.

"Okay," Maka said. She felt babied. She was dehydrated and tired and Maka envied the self-confidence the sisters had in themselves. Liz and Patti discussed what to do with dinner and left to get some for Maka. Her stomach growled and she ignored it by rolling on her side. _Next time_ , she thought bitterly, _I won't fail._


	3. A New Madness Consumes?

Chapter 3: A New Madness Consumes?

Black Star yawned and leaned back into his seat. "Yeah that mission sucked."

Soul scowled at him.

"Well, you know what to do right?"

"…Not really? I mean, I guess I'll talk to her—"

"And you call yourselves partners," the ninja said sarcastically. "You have to give Maka some tough love. She's gonna hold in her shit until she's constipated, so all you have to do is _be her laxative_ and –"

"I don't need to hear the end of that sentence," Soul interrupted by shoving an apple in his friend's mouth.

Black Star bit into his new apple and continued to talk with his mouth full, "All I'm saying is you guys should get it together soon. Christmas is coming up and if I know y'all, you guys will be fist fighting before the presents are open, day of."

Soul got up from his chair and walked towards the main stairs into town. "I'll think about it. Maka is hard to crack."

"I know, brotato chip. That's what I've been saying! Be her laxative!" Star said loudly. "Be. Her. Laxative!"

"You are the grossest person," he said before descending the stairs.

" _Listen to your god and you won't fail!"_ Black Star's voice echoed and Soul wondered, not for the first time, why he was still friends with him. Granted, he did have a point. Soul recently got paid for the last mission and he still needed a gift for Maka. He really should stop waiting 'til the last minute.

Reaching the parking lot, Soul kicked up the stand on his bike and slowly rolled into town. He had gotten better at getting gifts for Maka in the last few years. She tends to like homemade things over store-bought, but does appreciate the occasional trinket or two. Getting her books was a lost cause because she gets all the ones she wants before he does. So one year, he surprised her with a new bookshelf and extra wall shelves. He doesn't think he has topped that year yet.

He passed several clothing shops and restaurants decorated from top to bottom with Christmas decorations from wreaths, lights, and Death Santa, which was a favored Christmas concept. It ranged from traditional Lord Death garb with a Santa hat to making Santa as scary as possible. It was a little bizarre since he was used to the snow aspect back East, but Death City doesn't hold back when it comes to decorum. The main shopping district was in midtown and he parked nearby the Deathbucks that was a frequent Shibusen hangout. He waved at Master, the main bartender, who nodded at him through the window. Soul took in the road of shops in front of him. Pursing his lips, he thought today might be a window shopping/getting ideas kind of day.

The next hour and a half, he went into a number of clothing stores, a Hallmark, and some kitchenware shops. Nothing inspired him. Maybe he'll compose something for her, but he felt like it was a cop out gift. He exited a sweet shop with a small bag for the apartment and spotted a jewelry store across the street. The front display showcased a delicate, gold tennis bracelet and he walked up to it. Maka doesn't typically wear jewelry, due to their job. But once in a while, he'll spot her glancing at a local jeweler or stare longingly at Swarovski's crystal figurines. Going in to look at some prices couldn't hurt.

The door dinged his entrance. Brightly lit glass enclosures and stands prided necklaces, watches, earrings, and the like. The outside noise lowered into a murmur as the door closed behind him. The store was empty. He hadn't been inside one of these since he left home. He passed by a large Grecian bust of a woman inside a wall cavity and a memory of his mother crooning over expensive pearls and diamonds while he sat in a corner came to mind. There was a graying, thin, middle aged man behind the counter, who greeted him and asked what he was look for today. He looked friendly and thankfully not smarmy.

"Just taking a look for gift ideas, thanks," Soul said. "Actually, do you have the bracelet displayed outside I could have a look at?"

"Of course! Just a moment," the man said. Soul eyed his name tag, which read "Bert." Bert disappeared into the back and Soul peered at some prices under the glass. The numbers don't surprise him, since he had been exposed to more expensive pricing. Maka might object, but he hadn't bought her jewelry before. But he felt they were partners long enough for him to purchase something like this. Right?

Bert re-entered the booth before Soul could finish the thought. The bracelet hung on a simpler rack and sparkled prettily under the fluorescent lights. Bert told him the carets, its value, and mentioned the various deals he had for the holidays. Soul picked the bracelet up and admired its cut and design. It wasn't _too_ expensive. He thought it was a good price for what it's worth. He kind of wished he had Wes's opinion. He was much better at this stuff than he was.

"For a girlfriend?" Bert asked.

Soul coughed and cleared his throat. "Oh no, _no_. My meister."

"Ah, I thought I recognized your hair," Bert said. "The Last Deathscythe, yes?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching his cheek.

"Lucky girl, nonetheless," Bert said, smiling.

"Is it possible to have this on hold? I'm willing to deposit and pick up at a later date," Soul asked.

"Of course. Christmas Eve is the latest hold date, just so you know."

"That's fine," he said.

Bert went and pulled out some documents and a box from under the counter. Soul signed and soon after swiped his card. Done.

"Thanks, Bert," he said.

"Of course. Come in whenever you want to pick it up."

Soul waved goodbye and walked towards the door. Just as he reached the door, there was an audible _thud_ that came from behind him. He looked back and nothing seemed out of place, until he saw a leg sticking out from behind the counter.

"Bert?" he said. There was no response.

Soul rushed up to the counter and found Bert lying in on his side, almost as if he were asleep. He crouched down and shook him. "Bert!" he said loudly. Soul checked his pulse, which was still steady, but slow. He then heard several yells from beyond the entrance door. Though reluctant to leave Bert, Soul found himself outside where there was a frantic woman who clutched onto a man on the floor, yelling his name. There was older man up the street shaking who looked to be his son, also on the ground unconscious. There seemed to be several people in panic inside various shops where there were unconscious people. It all was the same: a person collapsed onto the floor without warning, and didn't wake up.

 _What the fuck is happening?_ He thought and then Soul's phone buzzed in his pocket. It screamed Death's ringtone. "Kid?"

"Soul, we have a situation." Kid sounded stressed. "Several students at the academy have collapsed—"

"Yeah, same here."

" _What?_ Where are you?"

"Mid-town. I was shopping. There are a bunch of locals who have collapsed here too."

He heard Kid swear under his breath. "Do what you can there first and then I want you to report to the Death Room ASAP. Bring Maka. Kid out."

"Right," Soul said and then dialed for an ambulance.

/

"And then you solve for A and then you plug in your answer here to get X," Maka explained. Tsugumi nodded in understanding as she scribbled down her answer. They were in the NOT dormitories. Covering both math and English, she was helping her look over an essay while Tsugumi worked some math homework. Maka often tutored students for the joy of it and the little extra credit it earned. She also felt she needed to brush up on some writing herself and playing editor does the trick! She can't afford to fall back on her basics and felt wanted to redeem herself however she can. Maka could tell Soul wanted to talk to her about the last mission. But honestly, what was there to talk about? They failed and now they just have to try harder. Baby steps.

"Maka-Senpai?"

"Hm?" she said.

"Is something wrong?" Tsugumi asked, with worried eyes. It suddenly struck Maka how much the weapon has grown since she joined the academy. Perhaps a bit more attentive.

"No, just lost in thought. Did you figure it out?" she asked.

"Mhm! I think I understand it now. Thank you! I feel more prepared!" Tsugumi said cheerfully.

"Good! I'm glad," she said, smiling.

The bedroom door opened and Meme came in. She plopped her school bag on the ground before noticing that Maka was there. "Oh! Hi Maka!" Meme said.

"Hey Meme."

"Are you tutoring right now? Do you have time to help me spare later? I wanna try this new technique I learned in class," she said, leaning against the door.

"Uh, yeah sure! We just finished if you want to go now?"

"Actually, it kind of requires a weapon. Is Soul around? We don't have any fake weapons here."

"No, I came here without him," Maka said. "We can head up to school if you really want to train."

"Mmm…" Meme thought for a moment. "Yeah okay, let's go!"

"Alright then!" The girls gathered their things and decided to walk to school instead of taking the bus. About halfway, Tsugumi remembered that Maka just came back from a mission.

"How did it go, Senpai? I bet you were awesome!" Tsugumi said.

"Ahh," said Maka, who faltered in her step. "It didn't really go the way I expected. But that happens on missions sometimes."

"What happened?" Meme asked.

"Um," Maka hesitated. "Soul and I got lost in the Amazon and somehow, we were rescued by the Academy in a nick of time."

"Oh no!" "Thank goodness!" they exclaimed in sync.

"Yeah, we've been grounded from missions by Kid since we got back," Maka said bitterly. "If weren't for me, we might not have gotten lost at all."

"But that's why you have Soul, right?"

And suddenly, it struck her how sound that statement was. Maka met Tsugumi's eyes and the weapon blushed. "You're so lucky you have such a great partner. I hope I can be that good someday."

"What are you talking about Tsugumi? You're the best partner!" Meme said and hugged her abruptly. Tsugumi blushed and tried to wave her off.

Maka felt a tenderness for the pair and looked towards the blue sky. It was a pretty day and the sun grinned menacingly. She had much to be grateful for and Soul… she owed much to her success to him. They have grown so much, like Tsugumi and her partners, and he has proven himself a formidable, powerful weapon. Yet they have failed their recent mission and it was all because of her. She has so much more to do, even after making a Deathscythe. Maka sighed and spied the looming academy in the distance. She wants to prove herself again. If only Kid would let them! She remembered how relieved he was when they got back and forbade them from taking any missions until he saw that they were ready.

Her mouth twisted at the thought. Since when did Kid decide what was good for them?

"Maka!"

Holding onto her long skirts, Anya sprints down the stairs looking frantic. "Something terrible is happening! Students are collapsing left and right!"

"What? Why?" the trio said, alarmed. Anya sprinted toward them and brought Meme and Tsugumi into a tight embrace. "Thank Death you are all right! I was beside myself with worry!"

"We're okay, Anya," Tsugumi reassured her. "What do you mean students are collapsing?"

"I don't know! There were two people who fainted in our classroom and Sid Barrett took them to the infirmary," she said, after catching her breath. "But it turns out there were others around the school who collapsed too and there's no pattern to it. I feared the worst and started for home after that."

"I'll go see what's going on," Maka said, taking the initiative. "You three stick together and stay safe, okay? We can train another day. Call me if anything goes wrong."

The trio nodded and Maka went for the steps. But as soon as she ascended a few steps, she heard a familiar rumble in the distance. She turned and saw Soul's orange bike pull up by the staircase. Anya, Meme, and Tsugumi stared at the Deathscythe with awe when he dismounted and secured the bike to a nearby pole. He saw them and gave them a nod before turning to give her an annoyed look.

"What's wrong with your face?" Maka spat.

"What's wrong with you not answering your phone?" he countered. She blinked and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Several texts and calls from Soul and one from Death the Kid.

"Oops," she said.

"Yeah," he said and rolled his eyes. "Can we fly up instead? Kid called for an emergency meeting."

"We're not allowed to fly in the hallways—" she reprimanded.

"Who the heck cares right now? It's an _emergency_ ," he said and transformed himself into her hands. "Let's go, nerd."

Maka cawed a loud, exasperated noise at him, but saw his point. They sped promptly up the staircase, leaving the trio behind them.

Anya and Meme heard a _thud_ next to them and they whirled around in alarm. It was Tsugumi, who fell her to knees with a sparkly eyed expression and said passionately, "One day I want to be as beautiful as Soul-senpai!"

The Death Room's main stage was littered with piles of paperwork, books, and charts, along with several televisions that displayed visuals within the academy grounds and international Shibusen locations. Kid stepped out of his office circle with a flourish of his black cloak and shifted his Death mask to the side of his head. In front of him, Spartoi stood at attention to Lord Death.

"I'm glad you can make it," said Kid. "It's good to see all of you."

"Are Liz and Patti still in Brazil?" Tsubaki asked, looking around her.

"Yes, unfortunately. The house has been very quiet without them, so I've been catching up on work here," he said, gesturing behind him.

Black Star crossed his arms. "You have to take a break sometimes, Kid. Even gods like us need some downtime."

"I appreciate it, Black Star," he said. "But rest will have to wait. I've called you all here to tell you of serious new developments: a new Kishin is on the rise."

There was an audible gasp in the room. Maka clenched her fist. Her bangs casted a shadow over her eyes. Soul glanced over at his partner, but said nothing.

"Who's the culprit? This time I'll break their back before they break mine!" said Black Star, punching a fist in his hand.

Kim smacked his shoulder. "Shut up, Star! It took me ages to heal your back to normal last time!" she said. "So is it true? We're dealing with _him_?"

"Yes, a man who calls himself 'The Wizard' and is somehow related to the witches," Kid asked. "What do you know about him, Kim?"

"Other than he ran away from the coven centuries ago after being shunned by them, I didn't know much else besides the recent reports," she said, shifting her weight on a leg. "So I did some asking around and apparently he was hibernating in Brazil after he disappeared. He has some sort of vendetta against witches, especially Maaba. I've been told it's because they're siblings."

" _What?"_ everyone gasped.

Kim shrugged. "That might be just a rumor, but who actually knows?" she said, indifferent. "Probably only Maaba, but that fact is, it doesn't really matter. She is the only match to his power."

"I see," Kid said. He started pacing. "From what Liz told me over the phone, they are at a standstill in the Amazon. Even though the coven is handling it, I'm afraid for the worst. The new madness that is radiating all over the world is coming from Brazil."

"What do you want us to do, Kid?" Kilik said, who stepped forward. "We want to help." Everyone hummed in agreement.

"Thank you," Kid sighed gratefully. "I think the best course of action is to gather more information and to be prepared for the worst. Which means I'm enforcing more training in the academy for all students, EAT and NOT classes. Of course, EAT gets a more rigorous regiment. I also want some of you to in various parts of the world where the madness seems to be affecting the most. You all will be staying at Deathscythe sanctioned locations, so no need to worry about finding lodging. I want partners to search out any information about the madness: symptoms, reactions, and if possible, a way to combat it."

"I'll take Asia," Ox said, stepping forward. "I've been studying several Asian languages and I've been meaning to test them out, if you don't mind."

"Excellent. Harvar, please keep him in line," Kid added at the end. The spear gave a silent thumbs up while Ox gaped in outrage at his partner. "Kim, Jackie, are you alright with Europe?"

"Yep!" they both chirped and then whispered to themselves all the shopping spots they wanted to hit after their mission.

"Klilk, I want you to head to Africa for a couple weeks."

"Yeah, it'll be good to see some friends there. Count on me, boss," the pot meister said.

"Star and Tsubaki, you two have Australia."

"YUS! Tsubaki, we get to see the kangaroos, isn't that awesome?" Black Star shouted while his weapon laughed at his excitement.

"What about me and Soul?" Maka asked, stepping forward. "That's all of the main continents."

"I have your father making his way east for the rest of the States. I want you and Soul to stay here in Death City," Kid said.

"Why?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

Kid gave her a weighted look before answering, "Because I want one of our best stationed here at home base. I want you two to patrol the city daily and to help civilians who have succumbed to the madness."

Soul watched as the tension rose in between them, both meisters in a stare down. With these conditions, this was considered to be a low star mission usually given to low star meisters. He sensed the fury Maka barely kept in check. They were still being grounded from their last mission. Ten seconds passed and Maka turned her heel and walked out of the Death Room. Kid sighed and gave him an apologetic expression. "I have my reasons, Soul. Please express that to her," he said.

"And what is that reasoning?" Soul challenged "Because Deathscythe is roaming the country right now? Or because you think we're not up to the mission?"

"My decision is final," Kid said, moving his mask onto his face. "We have to work as a team to figure this out and I need you and Maka to be stationed here."

"It's not up to me," he said. "Wherever Maka goes, I go. I'm not questioning your decision. I'm just confused as to why."

"We almost _lost_ you two in the Amazon, Soul," he said, his voice muffled behind his mask. "From what Patti's told me, we're lucky I don't have to collect your souls right now. Please. Just stay home for now, for my sanity. At least until Liz and Patti come home."

While he understood the sentiment, Kid didn't have to deal with Maka when she's pissed. When he dismissed them all to pack, Soul made his way out of the academy and descended the grand staircase. He heard Black Star and Tsubaki walking beside him.

"Kid must be so stressed. Maybe I'll cook for him something this week," Tsubaki pondered.

"OH!" Black Star snapped his fingers. "Can you make that chowder with the octopus?"

"It would have to be symmetrical animal, yes. We'd have to find an eight-legged one instead of the usual six."

Soul found Maka mounted on his bike, helmet on her head with arms crossed. He felt the weight of the days ahead as he unchained his bike.

"We're out of food at home. Do you wanna order out or buy groceries?" he asked, mounting and turning on the engine.

"I don't care. It's your turn anyway," she spat at him and leaned back to hold onto the hand rail.

 _Geez, okay._ He rolled his eyes and slowly maneuvered in the street. "Take out it is."

/

For the next few days, she holed herself in her room studying, barely talked to anyone in public, and gave the stank eye to whoever tried to do so. They went on their patrols like Kid requested, but that resulted in heavy stomping and cursing under her breath. Still it was a mission and they took their job seriously. It led them to where most of the collapsed citizens were currently residing: Death City Hospital. Maka and Soul were now familiar faces to the front receptionists and an array of doctors that reported no changes from the civilians, though in stable condition and continuing evaluation. It was as if they were sleeping, but unable to wake up. They received daily reports from the hospital of any changes in the patients.

Meanwhile, they were approaching the end of their high school curriculum and the apartment quickly became a small library with stacks of borrowed books (why did the library let her take out so many?) and notes he'd never laid eyes on before. He doubted that college level calculus would be on the final exam, but he didn't want to ask. Soul wasn't sure what he would do after graduation either. He didn't think it would be much of a transition for him, as future acting Death Scythe; he already had a job lined up for him. _Actually_ , he paused, _she hasn't really mentioned her plans after graduation._ He spied at her over a pile of books across their kitchen table.

She was amidst writing something in a weathered notebook and periodically clicked on her new HP laptop. It was a gift from her father she reluctantly accepted and they desperately needed the upgrade from the ancient library dinosaur blocks. He settled back down on his chair. She mentioned the idea of teaching future weapons a few years ago, but with achieving Death Scythe status and Crona on the Moon, talks of the future were put on hold. Soul flipped a page in the textbook he was reading and sighed. Crona. What a sore topic.

She would sometimes cry their name out at night and he would have to wake her up when it happened. They didn't talk about the nightmares or their failed mission. She refused. They haven't had a decent conversation in days, besides school work and doing household chores. It was like she retreated back into herself, which concerned him. That was something he usually did when something upset him. Not Maka. She fought back and yelled and made her presence known when she was _annoyed_. She and Black Star were alike in that way. Suddenly, Soul didn't think it was about being mad at Kid anymore. It was different this time.

There was a thin opening between the book stacks he hadn't seen before. She was mouthing something to herself while drawing a complicated graph on the page. It was rare when they got to do normal stuff like study, so he took this still moment to watch her for several minutes. She was a force to be reckoned with and with her help, he was too. A whisper of the little demon's ghost echoed in his mind, who would've had something to say about Maka's emotional state.

"Soul."

He blinked and she was looking back at him. "Stop staring at me. It's weird."

"Sorry," he said, mentally slapped himself for that knee-jerk response. He didn't know what say after that, so he said nothing.

"Have you been actually studying this whole time?"

"I was," he said, defensive. He wasn't.

"Your final exams are important! Just because you're Deathscythe doesn't mean you get to slack off—" she lectured.

"Yeah, yeah."

"—Which reminds me, I want us to train every two days in the sparing room."

"What? Why?" he said, alarmed. "We're in great shape!"

"No, we're not. I want us to train harder so we can be faster and stronger than ever. We start on Friday before dinner," she said, turning a page in her book.

"Friday?" He turned to look at today's date, which was Sunday, which meant the upcoming Friday... "No, Black Star and I have our weekly basketball game that day!"

"But he's in Australia right now?"

"He said they'll be back by Friday, tops."

" _I_ think our partnership is more important than some basketball game," she said.

"You didn't even ask if I had plans!"

"What can be more important than bettering ourselves for the future?"

"I don't know, but you can't just decide something on your own, dummy," he argued.

"Geez, fine we'll move it to Saturday! I figured that Friday would be better so that we can have the weekend to relax—"

"That's not the point, Maka and you know it—"

"Nyahhh, why are my kittens arguing when I come home!"

They both turned towards the window, where they see Blair floating into the room and poofed herself into human form, more scantily dressed than normal. She must have come from work. Blair took off her heels and magically made a robe appear, draping it over her shoulder. "Does Bu-tan have to do some intervention again?"

"Hi Blair," he said noncommittally, rolling his eyes.

"Welcome home," Maka greeted into the nearest book stack.

"Okaeri," she said, putting one hand on her hip while the other summoned various bath items in mid-air. "I'm going to take a bath. Bu-tan had a very bad customer today, so she wants to relax with _no fighting_. Understood?"

Maka and Soul made agreeing, grumbling noises in response. With a satisfied _hmpt_ , Blair stalked towards the bathroom, whistling the rubber ducky song while floating items trailed after her. Meister and Weapon sat in relative silence for a moment, in some ways processing what had happened. He glanced up at her and he could tell that her thoughts were too distracted to study anymore. He gave in.

"I don't mind cancelling with Star," he said through gritted teeth. "Just let me in on what you want to do next time, yeah? Friday is fine."

Maka's face contorted, uncomfortable but mumbled, "Fine."

He took a deep breath and pushed back his chair, "I'm gonna start dinner. I need a break from studying."

"Kay," she said, picking up another book from a stack. As Soul rummaged through the kitchen, he missed the sad, defeated look that Maka gave him.

"Maka wants to do _what?_ "

"Train more on Friday nights," Soul repeated. He holds his phone with his shoulder to cheek while he picks out two vinyl records off the shelf. He technically wants to relax with maybe jazz, but he still felt peeved about Maka's decision, so maybe something chaotic to match his mood? "We have to do basketball another day."

Black Star was quiet for a few breaths. Soul thought the call dropped for a moment before he heard the ninja say to himself, "…Maybe _I_ should train more too."

"That's… totally your call."

"Heck, I want in on this extra training! HEY TSU, ARE YOU FREE FRIDAY NIGHTS?"

Soul jerked his ear away from the surprise volume. His phone miraculously dropped on top of a nest of clothing. He set down the vinyls on his desk and bent down to hear the latter half of Star's sentence,

"….more on Friday nights, you want in? …COOL! Alright, hashtag TsuStar is in!"

"Great," Soul said deadpan, putting away one record. Calming jazz it is then.

"Anyway, I don't know about weekends for basketball, bro. I'm usually packed on both Saturday and Sunday doing stuff with Tsu, so I'll let you know."

"Alright. It's no big deal though. We'll just see you on Friday's."

"Oh yeah, true that, true that. Anyway, I gotta go. I have to be up at four-thirty to run for two hours."

Soul's eyes bugged out a little, "Yeah, have fun with that."

"Thanks! See ya, bro."

"Laters," he said and hung up. Soul stared up at an unseen void and wondered _again_ why he had such active friends. He un-sleeved the record and put it on the antique turn-table next to his shelf. It was some dark-lacquered wood with intricate bronzed designs. It was a congratulatory gift from Wes, for making Death Scythe. At the time he received it, he couldn't bring himself to even _pawn_ it because it was so gorgeous. But he and his brother were on better terms now. Music was music after all.

He was about to put the needle on when he heard a sharp knock. He looked towards his door, which was ajar, but didn't see burnt blonde or a tall succubus from hell. He heard Blair's cooing tone drift into the room. He went to go shoo her away when he realized that she was actually talking to Maka across the hall. She was looking down at the floor and Blair was back in her cat form. He wasn't going to eavesdrop, but Blair's sudden question made him pause:

"….sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Blair. I'm fine."

"It has been a while since you and scythe boy argued like that, so Bu-tan was worried—"

"It's okay, we're fine."

"—and I know your last mission didn't go well, so if there's anything I can do for you, just say the word, nyah?"

"…Thanks Blair. Look, I'm really tired and I really want to go to bed—"

"Can Bu-tan sleep with you tonight?"

"No, go sleep with Soul. I'm tired, okay? Goodnight, Blair." And there was a quiet, but firm shut of her door. Soul frowned. The magic cat pouted and turned her tail to made for his door, but saw that he was already standing at his door slightly more than ajar. She tsked.

"Eavesdropping isn't very nice, nyah," she whispered.

"Didn't mean to at first," he said.

"Are you going to turn me away too?"

He sighed, "If you must," and walked back to his record player. Blair trotted quietly and leaped up to settle at the end of his bed. At some point during their long, living arrangement, it became a rule that if Blair wanted to sleepover in their bedrooms, she had to remain a cat. For practical and unspoken reasons. More times than not, she slept in his room because Maka kicked while she sleeps.

"It's my turn to wake her up if she has a nightmare, nyah?" she said, circling in her spot before settling.

"If you don't mind, thanks," he replied. She yawned as he placed the needle down for the night.

/

 _One week later_

"Ox and Harvar are back," Kid said on the phone. "So are Kim and Jackie. I'm getting the group together in the Death Room, so can you two come ASAP?"

"Yeah, we were just finishing our rounds," Maka said. Soul, who was putting more gas into his bike, raised his eyebrows at her. "We can be there in twenty minutes."

"Alright, see you then," he said.

Maka stuffed her phone in her pocket. "It was Kid. He wants us at school. We can train right after the meeting."

"Fun," he said and hung up the nozzle. "Are you still mad at Kid?"

"I don't know. I just hate feeling useless when I can do something," she said, mounting the bike behind him as he revved the engine.

"We _are_ doing something, just not at a big scale," he said, taking off. "I think it's nice to stay home for once."

"Of course you do, lazy," she said, huffing.

"Hardass."

"Jerk."

"Nerd."

"Thanks, I _like_ being a nerd," she said.

"Yeah, yeah."

In a few minutes, they arrived at Shibusen and they dropped off their workout bags in their lockers before walking to the Death Room. The halls weren't as busy as they used to be. It could be because students were in class, but despite that, the floors felt emptier. The lack of souls in what used to be a bustling space unsettled Maka. She felt it. How many more will be taken by the madness? What can they do? She tried not to blame Kid for their lack of action, but what is she to do with this bitter feeling inside of her?

They passed beneath the red guillotine arches and they saw ahead of them the back of Kim's pink hair. Kid sat on the elevated step of the stage with Black Star and Tsubaki on either side of him. Kid was in his regular clothes, gray shirt and black suspenders and pants. The dark bags under his eyes were more apparent this time. He was not sleeping. Maka felt a twinge of guilt. It must not be easy taking over as Lord Death. Kid noticed their approach.

"Excellent, just in time. Kim, Ox, tell us what you guys have learned," he said.

"Okay, we had some discussions during our missions– " Kim started.

"And my handle on Japanese went swimmingly well!" Ox said, cheerfully.

She elbowed him, " _Not now_. And we came to some consensus based on our notes. The madness seems to spread faster in people who are having difficult times in their daily lives."

Ox took out a notebook from his jacket sleeve. "We talked to several families who had collapsed victims. One family had financial troubles, another had very sick children, there was one father who hated his job, and the list goes on!"

"And this is just our assumption, but the problems these people face probably took some toll on their mental health," Kim concluded. "Thus being easily susceptible to this new madness. Most of the victims exhibited fatigue and barely talked to anyone and a lot of their family members said they weren't themselves before the collapse."

"Asia still have a lot of superstitions based on what they do or don't do and we got a lot that talk during our questioning. They kept saying the victims collapsed because they didn't take the proper steps to ensure the collapsed person were happy. There was a lot of regret from everyone. Most would ignore that sort of talk, but because it's a cultural mindset, it does take on a toll. So one day, Harvar came up with an apt name for the madness, which we now call," Ox waved his hand towards his partner.

"The Madness of Despair," the spear said, his eyes visible behind his shades. "Every single individual at all hospitals are very cold and in a deep sleep. It's almost as if they're dead."

"Our patients here in town exhibit the same symptoms," Maka said. "The doctors are worried about hypothermia and they're doing all they can to keep the bodies warm and functioning. They seem to have that under control for now, but who knows how long they can keep doing it."

The severity of their mission caught up to them. It was silent for a few moments, possibilities flashing before their eyes. Death the Kid suddenly stood up, his hands in fists, his eyes glowing with rage. "Reaping thousands of innocent souls will _not_ be my first act as Lord Death. We will end this Wizard and bring these people back to life. In the meantime, I want all of you to find a cure however you can. I'm going to have an emergency call with the Death Scythes to discuss our options. Dismissed."

"I'm super psyched there's gonna be another battle! I'm gonna wreck that Wizard until he surrenders willingly, hahaha!" Black Star said, but then his excitement sobered quickly. "Though Kid might end up killing himself if he doesn't sleep. Does anyone know when Liz and Patti coming back?"

"I called Liz to catch up the other day and she's actually talking with the witches to see if we could help them," Tsubaki said. "The coven is kind of stubborn, but the longer this goes on, we might have to intervene soon."

The hallway echoed with their footsteps as they all got lost in their thoughts. The Wizard's voice played back in Maka's mind over and over again. He wanted to sacrifice his soul along with others to create this madness. To what end? Was his vendetta against the witches the only thing that motivated him? Why would anyone want to give up their soul in order to infect others? She doesn't understand. She wished she defeated him while she had the chance. It was because of her failure that they're in this hell right now.

"Yo!"

"Huh?" she said, startled out of her thoughts.

Black Star raised an eyebrow at her. "We're still up for training, right?"

"Oh, yeah totally," she said. She can only get stronger to make up for her mistake.

"Let's go pleb!" he said and ran towards the lockers.

"Who are you calling a pleb?" she yelled and chased after him. While both of the top-tier meisters squabbled at each other down the hall, it was decided that Ox and Harvar would join them in the sparring room. Kim and Jackie opted out and wished them good luck in their session.

It was no surprising that Black Star was already stripped down into just his trousers by the time they all gathered in Shibusen's one of a kind gym. There were several other students sparing in the left corner and weapons focusing on their abilities on the far right. There was the standard gym equipment along with specially-made ones for different weapon types, like a shooting projector for target practice and sharpening station. Sid at the very center of the room waved at them to let them know he was around. Maka stepped out of the changing room in her workout uniform and began her stretching.

Soul rolled his eyes and plopped his stuff next to hers. Tsubaki rushed to Black Star and told him to stop flexing in front of the mirrors and to begin warming up. Soul, Ox, and Harvar went to go change.

When they all reconvened into the work room, Maka and Black Star were already going at each other. He jabbed and kicked while she dodged and retaliated. In tandem, it was like they were dancing, but with two very different approaches. Black Star was more direct and powerful. Maka was agile and fleeting, going for wider angles and laying lower blows. Soul forgets how these two actually grew up together and know each other's fighting style. He smirked when Maka laid a particularly hard blow, knocking the ninja almost off balance. But Star had a fast reaction time, which he adapted effortlessly.

"Maka seems more hesitant this time," Ox commented.

"What do you mean?" Soul asked. "She's doing fine to me."

Ox shook his head. "I've trained with Maka before in meister practice and she was much more forceful than she is right now. I had to keep up with her pace because she was too fast. I think she's distracted."

"They also just started," Soul said coolly, a little peeved that Ox noticed something he didn't.

"I'm not saying she's doing badly," he said, angling his head to look at Soul. "I'm saying she seems _hesitant_ and if I know Maka, she goes for what she wants no matter what. Which is where you come in to reel her in if she needs it."

"Hm," Soul grunted and didn't say more. He was unsure why he felt annoyed by his observation. Ox and Harvar went to warm up near the Tsubaki when a loud _thump!_ sounded not far from them. Maka flailed while she was pinned down by Black Star, who focused on keeping his form sturdy.

"What's with you Maks?" Soul heard Star say to her. "Quit thinking so much and fight me."

"Star, I think you guys need a break now," Tsubaki said, who was in an elegant yoga pose on the side. Ox tried to copy her pose, his muscles quivering. "Both of you go have a drink. We'll begin sparring with Soul in five."

Shit, he didn't even warm up yet. Soul began stretching as Maka came over to rummage in her bag for a water bottle. "Stupid Black Star and his stupid face…" she grumbled.

"Were you distracted by something?" he asked, leaning to his right.

"No I wasn't!" she snapped, finishing half her bottle.

Soul leaned away from her. "Even Ox said so."

"Ox can shut his fat face!" she retorted.

"Maka, do you want to spar after Black Sta—" approached Ox the Bullhead.

"I'm ready to spar with you now," she said hotly, dropping her water bottle on her bag. "Time to get wreaked, Ox." She brushed passed him onto the sparring mat.

"Okayyy then," he said, giving Soul a hesitant glance. "Are you sure she's okay—"

"Just shut up, man," he said tiredly and moved around him to follow her.

He threw up his arms. "What's with you two?" Harvar walked onto the mat behind Ox with an amused curve on his lips.

With the quick talk of the top two meisters on the floor, a small crowd gathered around them. Even Sid came to watch. "I used to stop students from watching fights before. It was the kind of man I was. Now I think students should learn from each other! Less work for me," Sid said to Black Star, who stood by him.

"I didn't ask, Sid?" he said, giving him a weird look.

Sid gave him a hard pat on the back. "Just thought I'd tell you, son," he said.

The sparring was about to begin. Maka gave her command. "Soul." In a flash, he was in her hand. Her grip on him was tight and angry. Anger was fine, but it could get messy.

"Loosen up. It's just training," he warned. Her grip remained as it was.

Harvar looked intimidating, glinting gold in his weapon form. Ox pushed his glasses up on last time and made a battle stance. Maka readied her weapon.

In the next second, Maka vaulted over using Soul's staff and Ox defended. With a swipe of scythe edge, it caused sparks to fly between them. Ox gathered energy and shot lightning bolts at her, who dodged and went low for his feet. He jumped and countered with a jab and she hopped away from him. They continued to go around each other, both taking turns to touch and dodge as the crowd cheered on the sidelines. Maka whirled and went for a kick at Ox's face. He dodged just in time and swiped the blunt end of Harvar's staff in return. She fell backward to somersault away from him to catch her breath. Her bangs were a sweaty on her brow and she breathed heavily.

"Yo, you're not thinking now. You know Ox likes to be dramatic when he fights. Use that to your advantage!" Soul suggested.

"I got this," she said and ran toward her opponent head on. Ox stood his ground, spear at the ready. Maka growled and initiated resonance. Soul started yelling at her to hold on, but she was already running at full speed at Ox. At the last second of her charge, he anticipated her movements and stepped aside. She was going too fast and then barreled into the shelf of equipment. Kneepads, first aid kits and various other items fell and crash around her. Soul fell from her grasp and clattered to the ground. The metal shelf wobbled violently and tipped over. Maka wrapped her arms around her head and Soul transformed to shield her. With a _clash_ and _bang,_ the chaos stilled moments later.

Ox released Harvar, who shifted back to human form. They both along with Sid rushed to lift the shelf off them. Soul groaned and slowly lifted himself off her. She felt an ache on her right leg, which might become a bruise later. Soul rolled onto his side and rubbed a sore spot on his back.

"Are you both okay?" Sid asked.

Maka grunted while Soul gave a thumbs up.

"Good. I want you to clear this up and call it quits for today. Understood?" he said, waving over the mess they caused.

"Yes, sensei," the pair said.

"Alright. Now everyone get back to your training! Shows over! Move it, move it!" he said and herded the crowd away from them. Ox and Harvar stood over them and assessed the damage.

"We'll help you clean up," said Harvar and motioned Ox to start gathering things from the floor. Soul turn his head and saw Maka's bangs covering her eyes, her hands twisted together. He reached over to untangle them but stopped himself. Why was he reaching over? Comforting her was okay, right? They hold hands all the time. And it was then he realized it was her who usually reached out first.

Before he could make another decision, she got up and picked up a fallen boxing glove. He felt something sink in his chest slightly and he pushed it away to analyze later.

/

" _Maka?"_

" _Yes, Crona?" she said._

 _They swung their feet in the fountain. It was a warm day in the town square. Everyone celebrated their return from the Moon. Soul played on his piano leg at the Academy steps and Black Star was being held back from the crowd by Tsubaki. Death the Kid was appointed as Shinigami in command. All was well. A new era. Maka basked in the sun for a moment, glad that most of her loved ones were safe._

" _Maka?"_

 _She laughed, "What? What?"_

" _I want you to come see me."_

" _Huh?" she turned to them. Crona had the clearest eyes and they were serious. "What are you talking about? You're right here."_

" _No, I'm still on the Moon. I need you to come see me."_

 _Maka felt a sinking dread. I didn't save them? The sky darkened. The crowd of people disappeared into dust, just like in Brazil. She failed. Why does she keep failing?_

" _Listen to me!"_

 _Crona gripped her shoulders so that she couldn't escape. Their body distorted and black ink seeped out of their black dress. They shook her, "There isn't much time! The Madness is spreading and I need your help! Please, come get me. We can figure out a way to end this."_

 _But Maka was paralyzed. Something held her back. She shivered, her breath materializing in front of her. What can she do?_

" _Don't let the Madness win!"_

 _She could do nothing as the black blood surrounded her and Crona's voice echoed into the void. "I know you can do it, Maka! I believe in you!"_

And she gasped into consciousness. Her collar was drenched in cold sweat and her heart pulsed faster than normal. From the foot of her bed, Blair hopped onto her lap and patted her paw on her cheek.

"Can you please talk to Soul-kun, kitten? You can't sleep like this."

"No, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm handling it," she said numbly, rubbing her arms.

"Are you?"

Maka moved Blair onto the side and got up. She pulled a light cardigan from her dresser and then turned on the lamp at her desk. After grabbing a textbook from her shelf, she sat down to study and didn't sleep the rest of the night.

/

Soul picked up Maka's gift on Christmas Eve. A new employee handed him the bracelet, which was a heavy reminder of Bert's absence. The Christmas celebrations continued as planned, but the cheer seemed muted. D-City hospital did it's best to accommodate their extra guests. Kim and Jackie volunteered to be stationed at the hospital as their exclusive healer and lantern, as the weather was a little chillier this year even though the temps were in the high 70s. Soul thought back to his winters back on the east coast, all bundled up by his mother and his gloved hand held by Wes' big one. He unlocked the door to his current apartment and shrugged off his shoes. Blair the Cat sat on the kitchen counter, magically burning fishes again on the stove. She yowled when the oil spat out suddenly. It was then she saw Soul at the doorway. "Nyah finally you're home, Scythe-boy! Help me with this fish! They keep burning!"

He glanced at the pile of burnt fish next to her and said, "You're keeping it on the pan too long."

"Can you cook for me just this once—"

"Nope!" he said and scuttled into this room.

"I help pay the rent!" she exclaimed. He ignored her.

Soul spent some time wrapping gifts while thinking about his next course of action. The apartment had been quieter following their last training session. Whenever they came home, Maka isolated herself with studying and barely slept. The bags under her eyes were almost as bad as Kid's. He and Blair decided that it was time for an intervention. Now, how that was going to be done is the question of the hour.

There was a knock on the door. He scrambled to shove all the presents and gift wrap under his bed before Maka pushed aside his door.

"Hey, do you think the thermostat is broken? It's freezing in here." She was wearing her thickest sweatshirt, a hoodie, and thermal pants. It was the same ones she used when they had missions in colder countries. But Soul was wearing a normal t-shirt and sweats. It wasn't the least bit cold!

"Are you getting sick? The temperature feels fine," he said and walked over to her. He felt her forehead and it was strangely clammy. "Hm, you might be sick. You should go to bed."

She backed away from him, "No! I don't want to sleep."

He grabbed her arm, "You have to, you have not slept. At all."

"No!"

"Stop being stubborn!"

"Stop being bossy!"

"If you would just listen to me, I wouldn't be!" Maka turned her heel and bee-lined to her room. Soul followed closely behind her. "You're probably feeling shitty because you're not taking care of yourself."

"I'm doing fine! It's just a little cold—"

"After Brazil, you've been having nightmares way too often," said Soul, crossing his arms. "We have to talk about them."

"No, we don't," she said firmly, inching the door closed. "This is the last I want to hear about this. They're just dreams."

"Wow, we're doing this now?" he said. "Why are pushing me away? You know what happens when we do that to each other."

"I. Am. Handling it!" she screeched, gripping the side of the door.

"If you can't care for yourself properly, then I will!" he said, loud but firm. "We're _partners_ or have you actually forgotten about that?"

For a moment, she looked like she swallowed a fish. Recovering, she said, "You don't have to take care of me, Soul!"

He pulled her door ajar more and grasped her by the shoulders. "Yes, I do! I wouldn't give a shit if I didn't care," he said. "That is how we work: _We_ take care of each other! Or am I wrong?"

She blinked. _That was true._ His grip was solid and suddenly very real. He was worried judging by his face and frustrated. She _was_ pushing him away. Maka was so focused on becoming stronger that she forgot that she couldn't become stronger _without him_. Her heart constricted and she teared up. How can he still want a partner like her? She dropped to her knees and hugged herself. Maka started to shiver uncontrollably. _I know Soul says we're partners, but why? He doesn't need to stay anymore. Why?_

"Maka!" His face spelled alarm and fright. Is he afraid of her now? _Oh Death, I've scared him. I've ruined everything._ The space around her numbed and darkened. Or was it her that was numb? Wait, Soul was saying something. What was he saying? He looked like he was… screaming? Why couldn't she hear him? And it was then she noticed the sharp, continuous ringing sound. Why hasn't she noticed it before? It was the same noise you hear when you're in a silent room. And it became louder and louder. Maka plugged her ears the best she could, the sound passed through her. It was like a sharp needle through her ears, and it hurt so much. But somehow, through all this pain, she saw a black turbulent sea and a black grinning moon. And she knows then that he had found her.

 _You will die with me, Maka Albarn. You cannot escape your fate._


	4. Lost & Found, Part 1

When her head lolled to the side as he leaned her on his shoulder, Soul Eater Evans loses his cool.

"BLAIR!" he yelled, full panic mode. She was so cold in his arms. Just like the madness infected patients. He heard her human footsteps round the corner.

"Nyah, you finally need Bu-tan's hel—" she said then halted at the scene in front of her. "Maka?!"

"Hospital, now," he said desperately.

Blair jumped into action. With a snap of her fingers, she conjured a huge pumpkin with a magical seat and several seat belts. "Strap her in." They made quick work. She blew open Maka's windows and levitated herself and Maka outside and extended an arm to him. "Turn into a scythe now!" Soul did as he was told and Blair swung his blade over her shoulder. A cat and her kittens flew away as fast they could.

Upon arrival at the emergency room, the nurse staff were startled by a huge floating pumpkin entering the lobby but leaped out of their seats when they saw unconscious girl strapped to it. They called for wheelchair and blankets when they checked her temperature. They knew immediately that it was the Madness.

"Are you her guardian, miss?" one nurse asked Blair.

"No, just her roommate," she replied, unstrapping Maka.

Soul stepped forward, "She's my meister, I'll be her main contact."

"Soul? Blair?" It was Jackie who pulled up the wheelchair. Kim followed behind her with blankets. "Oh no, Maka!" she cried and rushed to her.

"Quick!" Kim said, wrapping her burrito style before sitting her in the chair. Jackie put her hands underneath the layers to begin warming them up. "Did this just happen?"

"Yeah," he croaked, overwhelmed.

"Maka is strong. Don't worry," she reassured. "Come with me. I have an idea."

The group hurried down a long hallway and into a spare empty room. It was extremely warm, with the heat cranked up to record highs _in the desert._ Soul and Blair laid Maka onto the hospital bed and then Jackie began preparations to keep Maka warm, with hot stones and a humidifier. Kim helped her while explaining her plan. "In the last few weeks, we've been experimenting with academy students to see if their partners could reach their souls. For the most part, they hadn't been successful. A lot of partnerships were new so they hadn't been taught how or whenever they tried, they were blocked off by the madness. Which means it's growing stronger.

"However, I know you guys," she said, pulling a nearby chair next to the bed. "You two are one of the best teams in the school, so if anyone can reach her, it's you Soul."

"I'm almost done with warming. You can start whenever you're ready," Jackie said, who brought in a portable heater from the closet. Soul sat down on the chair. The memory of Maka falling replayed in his head the whole journey there. He felt so helpless, being carried over by Blair. But now with Kim's words, he felt his purpose rise up again. He reached over to take one of her ice cold hands and covered them with his. A hand gently touched his shoulder.

"Bring her home," Blair said. "I'll contact Lord Death and Spirit while you do." He nodded and Blair walked out of the room. Soul turned back to Maka and closed his eyes, her frozen form etched onto his lids.

When he opened them again, the familiar void greeted him. In the far distance there was a doorway, gleaming like a beacon. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the door was stained glass but marred by growing ice. He opened the door toward him and a sudden gust of cold wind threw him back. Soul pushed against the wind, eventually climbing through the door. Unlike his Black Room, Maka's soul contained a black moon in the sky and a vast field of dead grass covered in ice. Storm clouds swirled and lightning flashed, revealing that the field was attached to a steep hill. It was so cold. Pulling his jacket closer to him, he headed towards the sound of crashing of water. Climbing the hill proved more difficult than he thought but when he reached the top, a restless dark ocean spread across the horizon. There was no sign of her. He began calling out.

"Maka! I know you're here somewhere!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

 _So you decided to join us Soul Evans. Welcome._

"Fuck me," he said

 _Now that I have both of you here, let's finish what we started._

The wind unveiled Maka before him. She suspended above the sea wearing a plain, white dress. Her ash blonde hair was loose and grew past her knees. Her eyes glowed a dull green. Suddenly, she raised her arm and a burst of air knocked Soul to the ground. Icicles jumped into the air and then came down to pin him on the grass, gripping his shirt. He attempted to get back on his feet, but then felt a hand gripped him by his collar. He and Maka were both parallel to the ground. He could not escape with her being so close.

 _Take his soul._

She plunged her hand in his heart. He choked from shock and felt her grip something inside of him. Ice cold creeped slowly from his chest. Her hair swirled around her, chaotic. It was strangely beautiful. He coughed painfully and tried to speak to her.

"Maka… please talk to me?"

 _She cannot talk. She has given her soul to me and now she will take yours—_

"Shut the fuck up, asshole!" he shouted and out of sheer will, he tore out of his shirt. His left hand gripped her arm in his chest. His right transformed into a lethal scythe arm and rested it against his own neck. His breath puffed in front of them and he knew he only had this chance. "There are only two people in this world who is allowed to touch my soul: Lord Death but most of all, Maka Albarn. If she wants it, she can have it."

 _Excellent._ _Take his soul my dear._

"You know what this means, right?" he said, ignoring him. "We die. And this is not a cool way to die, goddammit! I will end myself before you give him my soul. I will mangle myself beyond repair so that not even Kid can find me."

 _Foolish talk—_

"If we're both dead," he continued. "You will never have the chance to save Crona. If we can't beat this fuckhead, they'll be on the Moon with Asura forever. Come on Maka, I know you're in there," he said. He felt himself growing weaker as each second passed. The madness was making him mindless and obedient. Soon he wouldn't be himself anymore. This was the Wizard's plan all along. Soul wasn't sure how he was going to mangle himself into pieces, but there had to be a way to snap her out of it.

 _Enough games. Finish him._ Her hand gripped him tighter. The freezing pain made him breathless and there was nothing he can do. Was there? Cold seeped deeper into him and his vision clouded. Maka, the strongest person he knew, was giving up. What was he to do? Glancing at her face, there was no one home. Maybe he did fail to save her. Maybe this asshole took her soul after all. He looked around him. Ice grass and darkness engulfed them. This place was a shell of what it was. And he was dying in it. There was a curious pain in his chest and it was different from the madness. It felt like regret. He then realized something a little too late. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. He didn't stand a chance against the madness. And he didn't want to live in a world without Maka Albarn. He closed his eyes, her blurry image the last thing he sees.

"Goodbye, Maka," he whispered.

 _Goodbye, Soul Evans. I thank you for your cooperation._

He let the hand on her arm go slack. He readied his scythe arm for the final blow. _Slash_.

 _Clang!_

He opened his eyes, startled. Soul wasn't dead. Instead, a glowing hand was cleaved halfway through the cutting path to his neck. Oh shit. He just cut through his meister's hand.

He looked up and saw her glassy, angry eyes streaming with tears. Her mouth frowned into a deep V-shape and her hair was at a standstill. She was displeased.

" _How dare you?_ "

He blinked. "Uh, I'm sorry?"

"You stupid butthead!" she screeched and Maka-chopped him. He landed on the few inches of ground underneath him, groaning. Her left was no longer in his chest. He patted and peeked at it, just in case. It was completely whole. The despair he felt was quickly ebbing away as Maka grew brighter and brighter, enveloping him with warmth. "Idiot," she mumbled, and roughly wiped her face. There was that spark in her eye. And he knew they were in business. She held out her healed hand to him.

"Soul. Resonate with me."

He grinned. He transformed and danced around her. She gave him a good flourish before stabbing his staff into the ground. The ground crackled with light. The frozen grass melted into a healthy green in all directions. Storm clouds retreated away from the source of light. The laughing sun was revealed cackling happily and the dark ocean receded. It lapped gently onto the shore and a peaceful melody filled the air. Her Grigori soul emitted her natural anti-demon wavelength with the heightened strength from Soul, and both of them stopped hearing the Wizard in their thoughts.

When all was calmed, Maka let go of Soul and plopped herself down on the grass with her hands on her lap. She smoothed out her white dress and tied her hair into pigtails, which had become normal length once more. Soul joined her on the ground and admired her soul around them.

It's not as fancy and decorated like yours, but I like it here," she said, letting herself fall backward on the grass. He mimicked her movements and laid beside her.

"It's actually really nice. It's open and free. Just like you," he said, tucking one arm under his head while the other held her hand.

She snorted. "I'm sorry I haven't been like that lately."

"Stupid."

She slapped him and they squabbled for a bit. And then moments later, she mumbled, "I don't wanna live without you either."

He rolls his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said, embarrassed. It was a good thing they were already holding hands because he wouldn't have known how he was going to pull that one off again. She snorted again. Gathering her courage, she said, "We can talk about that later."

He pinked and studied the white clouds overhead. "Okay."

"Soul?"

"What?"

"I want to visit Crona."

He weighed her statement in his mind and then squeezed her hand. "Ready when you are." She squeezed back.

Maka surfaced from her soul sweaty and burrito wrapped in blankets. She sat up and a warming pack on her forehead fell onto her lap. Black Star, Tsubaki, and Kid, who all sat around her, jumped at her sudden movement, but then recovered when Black Star cheered.

"I knew she could do it! Who's the man?" he said and raised his hand for a high five from Maka, who couldn't reciprocate. Tsubaki crushed her in a tight hug while Kid sighed from relief. The curtain from the bed next to her pulled apart which revealed Soul, who looked like he was burrito wrapped as well, but he cut himself out. The sides of the blankets were cut open. He yawned and cracked his back.

"How long were we out?" Soul asked.

"About two hours I think," Kid said. "It kept Kim on her toes since your body started to become cold as well. Spirit and Stein should be coming in soon to check on you."

The sound of running footsteps came into the room. Kim saw Soul standing and Maka blinking at her. "Oh my god, Maka! Jackie, Jackie, look they're awake!" The pink witch vaulted and jumped onto her bed and grabbed Maka by the shoulders. "This is a miracle! How did you guys do it? _Tell me your secret_!"

"It was my soul?" she asked, arching away from her.

Kim cocked her head, "Your soul?"

"My Grigori soul," she clarified. "It helps me resist the madness."

Kim paused and lowered herself down to sit across from her. "Huh. I see. Special case then."

"Yeah. But I think I have a solution," Maka said and turned to Kid. "I have a request to make and I need your help."

"Oh? What's that?"

It was difficult to look dignified while swaddled in blankets, but she was determined. "I want to see Crona. I think it's time to rescue them."

"No, out of the question." Kid said.

"No, listen I've got a plan—"

"My decision is final, Maka," he said, crossing his arms. "I know Crona means a lot to you, but we can't just do whatever we please. We still have to consider that Asura is on the moon too. One madness is enough."

"There is a way to save Crona, contain the madness with Asura, _and_ defeat the Wizard at the same time," she insisted. "You just have to hear me out. You're allowed to take suggestions, right?"

He opened his mouth and then slowly closed it. Her words sunk in. His brows scrunched up and he breathed in deeply, ingesting them. He un-crossed his arms and folded his hands together loosely. "Yes. Yes, I am. What would you do?"

"It involves Brew but I need to talk to Crona first," she said. "Here's my plan…"

/

The jet landed on the air pad and Spirit Albarn turned off the engine. The door unsealed and out came Spartoi, Stein, Marie, and Sid. Several of them shielded their eyes from the bright Brazil sun. Everyone were dressed in their battle uniforms and ready to initiate the first phase of the plan.

Patti hollered from the distance and ran at full speed. "It's Kid!" She glomped him the second he got off the stairs. "I miss you so much!"

"Finally, you guys made it!" Liz said, who caught up with her sister. "We desperately needed new company. Please stay forever."

"If everything goes according to plan, we shouldn't be staying long," Kid said, gathering his partners in a tight hug. "I missed you two so much."

"I have the witch's head coven ready for us," Liz said, pointing her thumb towards the canopies behind her.

"Awesome," he said and turned towards his team. "Alright, time to start the mission. Be sure your ear communicators are on. When I give the okay, get ready in battle positions. Kim, with me. Agreed?"

Everyone gave their affirmations. Kid, Kim and the Thompsons walked off while everyone else gathered inside the canopies to ready themselves. There were trays of light food spread out for energy. Though no one was very hungry, some took an apple or crackers. Maka sat at the foot of the entrance and scanned the skies. The Black Moon glowed dimly. It seemed to have healed its teeth since the last battle. She wondered how Crona was doing and if their plan could work. Soul sat next to her and they waited for their call. He munched on some cheese and crackers in contemplative silence.

He suddenly felt a weight on his side. Maka had chosen to lean on him and wrapped her arm around his, still looking up at the moon. The edge of his mouth curved up and slipped his hand in hers.

"What happens if your old man sees us like this?" he asked.

"Hmm," she hummed. "I don't care. I do what I want." He snorted.

"Heh, cool," he grinned, finishing off the last of his cheese.

"What do you think of the plan?"

He took a moment to lay out all the events that were to happen and what could go wrong. "Eh, risky and a little too daring. But if Kid signed off on it, I guess it's okay," he said, shifting closer to her.

She waved a finger in front of his face. "Or it could have been my excellent persuasion skills and logic."

"Sure, okay," he said, nudging her. She made a throat noise at him and pouted. He squeezed her hand. "How do you feel about being back here again?"

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Sad, but it's okay. We're going to save them. I refuse to leave here without them." She gave the moon those fiery eyes. It was then that they heard the static from the ear communicators.

"Meeting was successful. Maaba will cooperate. Go now," Kid said. "I'll see you up there."

Maka led Spartoi out of the tent and turned to face them. "Unless Asura shows up, stand on your guard. Soul and I will be entering the Moon."

"Good luck, Maka," Ox said. Everyone cheered for a successful mission. Maka beamed and then pointed at the moon.

"I'm coming for you Crona! Let's go Spartoi!" she yelled. She took the air with Soul followed by her shouting comrades. Her pigtails whipped in the wind. They flied faster than all the others and left them behind. Dodging several clouds and gaining speed, the dark moon grew bigger and bigger. Her white dress and piano scythe appeared and they braced themselves for impact. Soul's played his song and amplified her wavelength. She began to swing him, using momentum for her main entrance. "DEMON HUNTER!" she roared and sliced an opening in the Black Blood. With a _squick,_ Soul pulled them forward and they were back once again into the void.

Madness of Fear seeped out of the cut. Black Star and Kid swept through the first belts of black blood launching for freedom. Kim flared heavy fire and incinerated a few others, leaving a heavy metallic smell in the air. Kilik and Ox shot multiple lightning bolts at a few stray belts. After a few minutes of work, the opening sealed itself up like new. And now they waited.

"Let's fly up further so we can rest on the surface," Kid said and led the team on Beelzebub to wait for phase two.

Meanwhile, Maka and Soul immediately felt the effects of the madness. It seemed different this time. Fear lived in this space now. Their instincts screamed at them to flee, to hide, to be anywhere but here. This madness affected Soul the most, but he shook it off with Maka's wavelength. She silently searched through familiar locations from the last battle. They dared not to make a sound. Asura and Crona were now one, sharing the same blood. Any false move could end the mission. Soul prodded Maka with a free hand. He raised a scythe eyebrow that asked if she sensed Crona yet. She measured a small distance between her thumb and pointer finger. _Close._

They traveled passed the tooth where they got knocked into by Asura. The moon's unblinking eye watched them as they flew up its crescent. It sent shivers down their spines. Maka spied the faint outlines of Spartoi rising with them on the other side. All according to plan. They rose higher and higher until they reached the very tip of the moon. There was a small figure curled up on the edge. The closer she got, the more Maka urged Soul to fly faster. It was them! That was their soul! Glowing purple with a faded X, Crona Gorgon sat alone with their head hidden behind their knees.

Inching closer to them, Maka whispered their name, "Crona. Crona!" They finally looked up and their eyes widened. They pointed at her in amazement. She reached out to them with a finger and gently looped their fingers together, saying yes. Yes, this was real.

"I'm here, Crona," she said, tearing up. "I'm here to bring you home." She let go of Soul, who safely transformed onto the edge while Maka launched herself at her friend in a tight hug. She could barely hold in her sobbing. "I'm sorry I took so long to get you. I'm so sorry, Crona. Please forgive me."

"It's okay, Maka. I did it because I wanted to," they said weakly, holding her gently. Crona gave her a minute to breathe and to compose herself. She pulled back to look at them properly. Crona was deathly thin. Perhaps she shouldn't have hugged them so tightly.

They smiled slightly. "It's okay. I'm fine. I'm glad you're here, Maka. I knew I could believe in you." Maka lost composure at that and began to cry again. Crona patted her head with two fingers.

"It's good to see you, Crona," said Soul, crouching down to their level.

"A-ah, you too Soul," they said, taken aback at his attention.

He leaned in close to them. "Do you still happen to have Brew on you?" he asked, quietly.

"Y-yeah, why?" they asked.

"And Asura hasn't come after you for it?"

"B-brew helps me keep him locked up," they said. "He's in a jail I made with the black blood. Down there on the nose." They pointed down and Soul and Maka peeped over the edge. Sure enough, there was dark dot on the middle of the moon's nose. It almost looked like a birth mark from where they were. "I made it at the same time I made the barrier around this place. He attacked me when I sealed us here, so I made a jail. He did escape a few times. It's not fool proof, which is why I lost so much blood and body fat," they said, looking down at themselves.

Maka looked at them horrified. Crona continued to explain, not noticing this, "I was running out of time, so I even tried to contact you through dreams, but I'm not even sure if that worked or not. I've tried Maka. I did! You're not mad at me are you? For failing—"

"Crona?"

They winced, "Y-yes."

"I'm never mad at you. Nor will I ever be," she said, tears gone. "Do you understand? You did the best you could and you did great. The world owes a lot to you and Ragnarok. You two can finally rest now, okay? Just leave everything else to me."

"Are you sure?" they said. "But you don't have black blood anymore! Even Ragnarok is almost gone."

"What do you mean?" she said, alarmed.

"H-he offered to help!" they exclaimed. "Ragnarok is the reason I'm still alive! There isn't much of him left in me. I only have enough to make a small dagger." They concentrated and produced a small black baselard in their hand. On the blade was Ragnarok's mouth, but it was sewn shut. He seemed lifeless and didn't make a peep. He was like a dud, a fake weapon. Soul and Maka met their eyes. Time _was_ running out. Phase Two need to happen now.

"We're going to need to borrow Brew, Crona," Maka said. "Is that okay with you?"

"Uh," they stuttered. "Yeah, that's fine. But then Asura will escape—"

"We have a plan. Don't worry," she reassured, standing up and helping them to their feet. "It's time for you to rest. You've completed your mission. I'm sorry I took so long on my half of the bargain. No one else could've done this. I'm really proud of you."

They rubbed their hands together, embarrassed but pleased. "Thank you, Maka."

Soul smiled as Maka happily explained to them the next phase of the plan. Crona nodded periodically and understood the steps. He leaned over to look back down at the black dot that contained Asura. He felt a wave of dread, which crept up behind him.

He pulled out of his pocket the communicator and voiced over to the team. "Spartoi, come in please, over."

A buzz later, "Everyone is here and ready. Are you? Over," Kid asked.

"Yeah, we're just about done. We have Brew. Asura is locked up in a Black Blood cage that Crona made, but once they give Brew to Maka, we have to be ready. Over," he said. Maka finished briefing Crona and the pair stood at the ready. Maka pulled another communicator out of her pocket to give to Crona, who inspected it and then put it in their ear.

"Copy that. You guys have 8.88 seconds to use Brew and to get Crona out of there. We'll reconvene for Phase Three. Kid out."

"Roger," Soul said and slipped his communicator into his pocket. "Ready?"

"Yup!" she said and held out her hand. He clasped it and transformed. Maka started to hover above the ground and gave out her other hand towards Crona. "You can hold onto me, okay? Don't let go."

"O-okay!" they said and climbed on her back, wrapping their legs around her waist and placed their hands on her shoulders. The trio began their descent down the moon. Crona trembled when they floated closer towards the nose. Maka placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder to comfort them. With a tilt of the staff, she urged Soul to pick up the pace. In a few minutes, they were back to where they started. She pressed on the communicator.

"I'm ready, Kid," she said.

"Alright, we'll back you up," he buzzed.

"Hold on tight, okay? Don't let go," she said to Crona. They nodded and they passed brew onto her. The Black Blood immediately started to dissolve. Asura's manic laugh echoed in his small prison. Maka concentrated and summoned the power of her Grigori soul. Her white dress glowed brightly. With Brew in one hand and Soul in the other, she used Eibon's knowledge to heighten her power. In a millisecond, information poured into her and she gasped. So much knowledge. Too much knowledge. She felt something grow within her. It felt like mania. Was this the Madness of Knowledge?

"Maka, concentrate!" Crona shouted. "Focus on one thing! Your wavelength!"

Right. Expanding it, she howled and easily cut through the Black Blood in front of her. Black Blood lunged forward toward her, but she banished them with a wave of an arm. With Brew, Madness was no match to her soul.

Asura's voiced boomed, " _At last! Madness will consume!"_.

"KID!" Maka screamed, hurtling towards Earth at increased speeds. She clutched onto Brew, letting her powerful wavelength protect Crona from the Madness.

"Maaba! NOW!" he yelled into the communicator,

" **Nyamu!** " Maaba squeaked loudly into their ears.

And time seemed to stop as two powerful Kishins of Fear and Despair were let forth onto the Earth.

 _It is said that Despair Freezes Fear,_

 _And that Fear Inflames the Despaired._

 _What is Death to Do When Both of Them Exist?_


	5. Lost & Found, Part 2

Chapter 5: Lost & Found, Part 2

What could be said about Asura was that he had felt all kinds of fear. Horror, terror, insecurity, doom, etc. The Madness of Fear didn't affect him because he was all of those things as well as the one inflicting those fears. But never had someone else made him feel anything different. Except one. The day when Maaba relinquished her control of her equal, cold despair flooded into his veins. For once in his immortal life, he felt something that overwhelmed him so much that he went mad. The second the Wizard was released, Asura was paralyzed from madness. He was frozen with deep, deep despair and felt nothing at all. Crushed by its oppressing weight, he fell from the sky, from what used to be the Black Moon.

Meanwhile, the Wizard suddenly felt _everything_. After being shunned from the Coven, despair cultivated his heart. This caused him to never feel anything again for centuries. Asura's reappearance made his dormant heart to churn and spiral wildly out of control. Thus all of his fears surfaced and he too went mad. The witches barely controlled his manic powers from destroying the forest, while Shibusen went to find the fallen Asura.

Spartoi found him in the Amazon Forest, ironically in the same plain where Maka and Soul were found on their last mission. His body hung loosely on top of a spike and black blood healed over the spike rooting him to the very top of the monolith. Kid scoffed from disgust.

"Very asymmetrical," he commented, mouth turned downward. "Disgraceful."

"So now we're gonna cut him up, right?" Black Star asked.

"Yes. Symmetrically into eight pieces so we can scatter them in hidden locations around the world, which I will do personally," he said.

"Isn't this a bit grotesque, even for you Kid?" asked Jackie. "I don't know if I wanna stick around for this."

"You don't have to of course," he said kindly. "But this will be in the history books! Actually, maybe that's a bad idea."

"Yeah, some dumb fuck will be like, 'Whoa, what if I could release the Kishin again? I could have so much power!' Yeah, uh that's a no," said Black Star and played it out with his hands. "Let's just keep it between us besties."

"Ah, I think I'll just take the twins back to camp and not be around for this," Kilik said and shepherded his partners the way they came. "Anyone who wants in can come with!"

"Let's go, Kim," Jackie said, tugging on her sleeve.

"But—" she said, looking back regretfully.

"Seriously?"

"Okay, okay fine! I'll come! God," Kim relented and stomped away pouting. Jackie gave her worried looks but followed her anyway.

Ox was torn between going after Kim and staying for a scientific dissection of a Kishin. "You might as well stay to help. Kim will always be there later. _This_ will not," Harvar reasoned for him.

"You're right! Thanks," he said and pushed up his glasses. Harvar gave him a thumbs up.

"Maka?" Kid asked.

Maka turned to him, confused. "Of course I'm staying. I got this far, right?"

"If you wanted to get back to Crona, we would of course understand—"

"Ms. Marie is taking care of them. I want to stay for this," she said and positioned Soul a clean cut.

Kid sighed and rolled up his sleeves. "Let's make this quick. I want to go home."

/

After Asura was skin-bagged into eight different pieces, Kid prepared them in specially sealed boxes with magic from the coven, a complicated security system designed by Stein himself, and something else that he is keeping secret only to himself. Asura will never see daylight and his Madness will never spread ever again. He spent two days flying around the globe to find special hiding places for them and when he returned to Death City, he finally could breathe and get some sleep.

The Witches took the Wizard into custody and they never revealed to Lord Death what they did to him. But from what he understood, it was permanent and he will not cause havoc again. That made Kid wary, not knowing what happened to him, but it was a working partnership in progress. There will be time later to divulge that information.

Having successfully rescued Crona, they went into full rehabilitation. There were talks of replacing what little Black Blood they had left with their original human (half-witch?) blood. Stein was looking into several replacements while a mission to search for Medusa's old notes proved to be quite the challenge. However, despite all this, Crona was back in Death City. For good.

Ragnarok was very weak and diluted to the point of no return. His consciousness was unstable and fleeting. As a result, Stein asked Crona what they would like to do with their partner, should they remove the Black Blood permanently. Their expression became sad.

"In the end, it turned out that he cared in his own way," they said, tearing up. "I think he's had enough. Maka is right. We should rest. At least Ragnarok should be able to have peace with Lord Death. Right?"

"Right," Stein said and rested a hand on their shoulder. Crona's shoulder shook as they mourned for their partner in the waning afternoon.

All the patients that were hospitalized were officially released the day after their return from Brazil. Nations all over the world celebrated for a week and new coverages talked about the promise of great leadership under the new, merciful Lord Death. Maka smiled as she turned off the TV. She stood up and arched her back before walking through the kitchen and into Soul's room. He was napping when it was his turn to make dinner. The distant yelps of alarm and "Why the heck do you wake me up like this?" was like music in Blair's ears. She groomed herself while taking in the moonlight that spilled through the window. She felt so proud of her kittens.

The grinning moon had a bloody smile tonight. No visitors did wonders for its teeth.


End file.
